Date With A Wraith
by Todd's Pet
Summary: A little foray into genetic theory and what might happen if wraith and human started to interbreed... don't give me biology lectures, it's not meant to be a science lesson, just make you think


Date With A Wraith

It had been several years since the Lanteans had perfected their retrovirus and the wraith named Todd had persuaded his alliance to lead the way forward for his kind. There were very few feeding wraith left anywhere in the galaxy now and wraith and human slowly began to integrate, each species as curious about the other.

Given the heavy bias toward male in the wraith population it wasn't much of a surprise that female humans showed the most interest… well, women always were the more curious gender among humans.

oOo

"Did you know that, genetically speaking, female is the default gender for humans?"

"But you are almost equal in numbers. How can that be?" Puzzled, the wraith looks up at the young female biologist, waiting for an explanation.

"Every human foetus starts out as female," she tells him, "And it's not until – or if – the male Y chromosome kicks in that it takes a different direction and develops into a male."

The wraith thinks about this for a moment then says, "So if you also reproduced asexually, then all your drones would be female?"

"I suppose they would be," she replies. "It's strange for me to get my head around the idea that all the DNA a female queen produces defaults to male…"

"It requires sexual mating with a male wraith to produce a female, a potential queen," the wraith explains, "But even then the default gender is male, hence the reason why there are hundreds of us to only one queen."

"By 'us' you mean…"

"What you call 'faced officers'. We are born conventionally, as you humans are. Only drones are cloned."

"I wonder if that would mean cross mating wraith and humans would result in a disproportionate number of male children…?" the biologist ponders.

"There is only one way to find out," the wraith replies.

oOo

Over the years, as curiosity about each other overtakes ingrained fear and reticence, wraith and human relationships start to develop. No longer having any need to roam the galaxy culling human populations, whole hives of wraith decant onto planets and form communities. Before long wraith-human hybrid children are everywhere.

As is often the case in science, the reality is far from the theory and the gender balance of those hybrid children is only slightly skewed toward male. Many of the first generation male wraith – the ones who were used to being ruled by and even venerating their queens – are quite taken with the idea of having produced female offspring and make doting fathers of spoiled and defiant daughters.

oOo

Of course, Todd – the father of non-feeding wraith and now the subject of legend and stories told to children – did not hold sway over all the wraith and small pockets of feeding wraith still hold out in the far-flung reaches of the Pegasus galaxy. But they keep themselves to themselves and make only brief forays for culling as they struggle to survive in a universe grown more and more hostile towards them.

Some of them manage to pass themselves off as non-feeding wraith and lure humans back to their hive, but never in enough quantity to be worth the danger involved.

oOo

The young female technician stands in the canteen queue, acutely aware of the wraith behind her staring intently at the back of her head. Just as she picks her tray up from the line and turns to walk to a table he speaks to her.

"Would you be prepared to mate with me?"

She drops her tray.

The wraith rushes to help her, ineffectually picking shards of broken bowl from the mess of stew spilled on the floor. She retrieves her apple and carton of juice and, red-faced, apologizes profusely to the boy who comes out to mop up the spillage before hurrying off to find a seat.

Undaunted the wraith follows her.

She turns away when he sits at her table and speaks to her. "I am sorry… that was not the right thing to say?" She doesn't answer him but he persists anyway. "I like you and I have seen you watch me… I assumed the attraction is mutual… was I mistaken?"

She laughs. His clumsiness is overshadowed by his compellingly sincerity and she tempers the laugh with a smile as she turns to look at him.

She has indeed been watching him and his assumption is not mistaken.

oOo

He returns with a fresh tray of food for her but she merely toys with the stew as they speak.

"It was just a little too direct, that's all," she explains as she pushes the contents of her bowl around with a spoon. "You're first generation, aren't you?" He tilts his head questioningly. "You used to be a feeding wraith…"

"It is that obvious?"

She laughs. "Your…em… unnerving frankness is a bit of a give-away."

"Perhaps you will allow me start again?" he asks and she's certain she can detect a hint of a blush through his green skin. "How should I approach you?"

"Well," she smiles coyly, "It's usual for humans who are… interested in each other to go on a date."

"What is a date?"

"You know, conversation, dinner…"

"Ah, right. So what would you like to converse about before I feed on you?"

She looks at him wide-eyed and in stunned silence.

"Joke! Wraith humour… although somewhat out-dated as I no longer need to feed on humans," he says. As if to illustrate the point he spoons and enormous lump of stew into his mouth and chews slowly and deliberately. "Never mind," he says, swallowing. "So, where do you want to go on this date?"

oOo

"When did this happen?"

The human Colonel and wraith Commander both look down at the shriveled corpse of a faced wraith officer. The dead wraith had been one of the ones who had taken to dressing informally in human style and his open neck fatigues shirt clearly shows the tell-tale scar of a wraith feeding hand.

The wraith Commander bends down to examine the scar more closely and says, "This is not possible, there are no feeding wraith in Atlantis anymore."

"But feeding wraith still exist," the Colonel counters.

"Yes but only in very small numbers and in such far flung areas of the galaxy that they could not possibly have reached here without our knowledge."

"Besides," the Colonel agrees, "Why feed on a fellow wraith with all these humans around…?"

"It is indeed a mystery," the wraith Commander muses, "I will have my best scientists work with yours to find the answers."

oOo

She opens the door to her quarters and looks back at him over her shoulder. "Come on in," she says. She tries to look coy but she knows this is the one and she knows what she wants from him.

He follows her into her room, more tentative than she is; even after all these years he can't quite get used to human females coming on to him instead of running away from him!

"Oh, surely a good looking wraith like you had his fair share of worshippers," she says without thinking.

"How did you…?"

She blushes as she turns to face him and says, "Telepathy… I'm a hybrid." She bites her bottom lip and looks up at him through her eyelashes, "I hope you don't mind."

"Why would I mind?" he says, moving closer to her. He strokes her hair gently and lifts his right hand up toward her throat.

As he does so she can see that there is no feeding slit in the palm of his hand and she smiles as she wraps her arms around him. She hears him sigh as he relaxes into her embrace and she grabs the moment…

Pulling her right arm back and stretching the palm of her hand she brings it down so fast he barely registers the feeding slit in her palm as she slams it into his chest with crushing force.

Wide-eyed and stunned he can only gasp, "But you are human…"

"Indeed I am," she says as she tears the life force from his body year by agonising year. "Isn't genetics amazing?" she muses, "Full of mysteries - and throw-backs. The kind of throw-backs that can create a human who feeds on wraith… and you're all so strong and with so many years to give up to me…"

oOo

She learned her lesson from the last time and disposes of the body more carefully; beaming it directly out of her quarters into open space. She carefully washes his blood from the palm of her hand, changes her clothes and brushes her hair. Standing at the open door of her room she sniffs the air and knows a wraith has recently passed this way. Whistling softly to herself she sets off down the corridor in search of her next meal.


End file.
